OT - KC Royals BBMogul 99 Career

[loc0bob]

Well this is my first post but i've been a long time reader of the forums.I've wanted to do a career thread for a while but I didn't really know how to go about it but I decided to do it my own way and just blurt out random stuff.Anyway since its almost baseball season I bought my friends copy of Baseball Mogul 99 off of him for 5 bucks.I decided not to use any house rules since this is my first time playing this game.I took the Kansas City Royals and put the difficulty on manager and decided to spread all the players out through out the league and my first season was HORRIBLE.I went 69-93(23 games out of first) and finished next to last(Minnesota being last).The team batting average was .288(Best in the league) while the ERA was 5.76(Worst in the league).

The playoffs went like this...

DIVISION PLAYOFFS
Orioles defeat Tigers, 3-1
Red Sox defeat Mariners, 3-0
Braves defeat Brewers, 3-0
Cubs defeat Giants, 3-1

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Red Sox defeat Orioles, 4-1
Cubs defeat Braves, 4-1

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Cubs defeat Red Sox, 4-2


The Award Winners were as follows(My guys in caps)...

AMERICAN LEAGUE (1998)

Cy Young: Roger Clemens (ANH)
MVP: Vladimir Guerrero (NYA)
Rookie Of The Year: Alfonso Soriano (TOR)

Gold Glove (P): Rheal Cormier (ANH)
Gold Glove (C): IVAN RODRIGUEZ (KC)
Gold Glove (1B): J.T. Snow (NYA)
Gold Glove (2B): CRAIG BIGGIO (KC)
Gold Glove (3B): Travis Fryman (DET)
Gold Glove (SS): Rey Sanchez (OAK)
Gold Glove (LF): Troy O'Leary (TB)
Gold Glove (CF): Kenny Lofton (TEX)
Gold Glove (RF): Shawn Green (OAK)

NATIONAL LEAGUE (1998)

Cy Young: Pedro Martinez (FLA)
MVP: Sammy Sosa (SF)
Rookie Of The Year: Mark Quinn (NYN)

Gold Glove (P): Kenny Rogers (CHN)
Gold Glove (C): Mark Johnson (COL)
Gold Glove (1B): John Olerud (STL)
Gold Glove (2B): Roberto Alomar (FLA)
Gold Glove (3B): Matt Williams (AZ)
Gold Glove (SS): Mike Bordick (MIL)
Gold Glove (LF): Bernard Gilkey (PHI)
Gold Glove (CF): Ernie Young (MIL)
Gold Glove (RF): Tony Womack (HOU)


Here are the contracts wanted by the guys from my team.After the offer it will say if I signed them or not...

KANSAS CITY ROYALS AGE SALARY YEARS
Craig Biggio 33 $9,000,000 4 (Released)
Luis Polonia 34 $490,000 2 (Signed)
Dwight Smith 35 $1,300,000 2 (Signed)
Brent Mayne 30 $1,200,000 2 (Released)
Willie Greene 27 $1,300,000 2 (Signed)
Darnell Stenson 20 $210,000 2 (Signed)
Brian R. Hunter 31 $620,000 2 (Released)
Travis Dawkins 19 $170,000 2 (Signed)
Tim Telford 26 $170,000 2 (Signed)
Doug Linton 34 $170,000 2 (Signed)
Jeff Montgomery 37 $330,000 2 (Signed)
Paul Quantrill 30 $730,000 2 (Signed)
Jose Paniagua 25 $170,000 2 (Signed)
LaTroy Hawkins 26 $170,000 2 (Signed)
Norberto Johnson 24 $170,000 2 (Signed)
Jeff McCurry 29 $170,000 2 (Signed)
Mike Drumright 24 $170,000 2 (Signed)


Well you are probably wondering why I didnt resign Biggio right? He had a Gold Glove year and hit a very good .296.Well I need pitching...VERY BAD and giving him 9 million dollars a year isnt gonna give me any room to sign anybody in the offseason.I had lost 5 million dollars during the season and had to unload Robin Ventura, Darryl Hamilton and Mike Stanley during the year to try and bring it down.Yes signing Biggio would have given me a great bat/glove at second...but I still wouldnt have anything at pitching..thus I let him go to sign some pitching because I figured Willie Green (Hit .260 in 79 games) could take over for him and do a respectable job.I re-signed Dwight Smith because he hit .312 in 132 games and will be starting in LF next season.Brent Mayne was my backup catcher and I really didnt need him because Robert Machado seemed ready to come up out of AAA.He hit .337 down there and should be able to take over for Ivan Rodriguez whenever he leaves.Re-signed Willie Green to take over for Craig Biggio and the rest of the signings were pretty much Minor League signings.

Anyway I am going to go mess around with the offseason and see what happens.Then i'll post any significant signings.Thanks for reading.

[loc0bob]

Well i've went through the off-season and couldnt really afford that much.I did pick up Pete Harnisch(3.25m for 1 year) and Bill Pulsipher(250k for 1 year) for the rotation and Terry Adams(170k for 1 year) for the Bullpen off of Free Agency.I also signed Brad Ausmus (2.5m for 2 years) for a back-up catcher and probable DH.

After picking up some Free Agents I dealt John Smoltz and Salomen Torres to St Louis for Aaron Sele, Miguel Batista and 2 million dollars.

John didnt really do good for us.In 98 he had a 10-6 record with a 4.26 ERA in 181.2 IP.He also took up 3.75 million a year in cap room.Salomen wasnt any good at all.My scout had said he was a career minor leaguer but he was the only guy I had for the 5th spot in the rotation at the beginning of last year.He took a beating and after about 2 or 3 months I sent him down to the minors again.He ended up 0-5 with a 7.13 ERA in 48 IP in the majors and 2-1 with a 5.56 ERA in 11.1 IP in the minors.Not a big loss at all for our pitching staff.Just a bad pitcher taking up cap room.In return I got Aaron Sele he is only 29.He went 13-10 with a 4.49 ERA with 206.1 IP in 98 and he only takes up 1.3 million in cap room.Alot less than Smoltz and plus he seems better.I also got Miguel Batista.He didnt do that well in 98 coming out of the bullpen.He had a 0-2 record with a 6.88 ERA in 17 IP but his ratings seem pretty well and I think if I give him a little time in the minors he should be great in the bullpen for us in about a year or so.I also got 2 million dollars which put us up to 4.2 million in cash and gives us a little more breathing room.

After that I sent Jeff Montgomery to Oakland for Rick Croushore.

Jeff was a horrible closer.Even though he had 31 saves he also had a ERA of 5.20 and 5 blown saves.He was also 38 years of age and would have retired soon anyway.I recieved Rick Croushore from them.Being from St Louis I recognized this name because he used to pitch for the Cardinals until he was traded to Colorado.I liked him so I followed his career and he ended up with Toronto I believe.I have no idea where he is now.I'll have to look it up on yahoo.Anyway he was a pretty good reliever/closer for the Cardinals before the Veras era.So I figured what the hell.Maybe he is good in this game.In only 9 IP he had a ERA of 3.00.He will most likely share the closer position with Paul Quantrill and Rich Rodriquez.

OPENING DAY STARTING LINE-UP (* Denotes Rookie)

Here is going to be my starting line-up for opening day including what they did in 98 and how much they are going to make this year...

Name - Age - Position - Average - HRs - RBIs - Salary for year

1.Luis Polonia - 35 - LF - .304 - 3 HRs - 58 RBIs - 300k
2.Damion Easley - 30 - SS - .278 - 23 HRs - 90 RBIs - 1.9m
3.Tony Gwynn - 39 - RF - .340 - 20 HRs - 121 RBIs - 4.2m
4.Mark McGwire - 36 - 1B - .267 - 55 HRs - 126 RBIs - 5.8m
5.Ivan Rodriguez - 28 - C - .295 - 28 HRs - 106 RBIs - 3.5m
6.Terrell Lowery - 29 - CF - .281 - 25 HRs - 100 RBIs - 200k
7.Dwight Smith - 36 - DH - .312 - 13 HRs - 63 RBIs - 1.1m
8.Wade Boggs - 41 - 3B - .273 - 7 HRs - 36 RBIs - 750k
9.Willie Greene - 28 - 2B - .260 - 6 HRs - 42 RBIs - 1.3m

BENCH

Brad Ausmus - 30 - C - .239 - 19 HRs - 62 RBIs - 1.2m
*Darnell Stenson - 21 - 1B - .000 - 0 HRs - 0 RBIs - 270k
Jeff Reboulet - 35 - IF - .274 - 0 HRs - 12 RBIs - 550k
*Travis Dawkins - 20 - IF - .154 - 0 HRs - 2 RBIs - 170k
Trey Beamon - 25 - LF - .230 - 0 HRs - 11 RBIs - 213k

It doesn't look too bad.The only things changed from last years opening day line-up are Terrell Lowery is in CF instead of Darryl Hamilton.Dwight Smith is DH instead of Mike Stanley.Wade Boggs is playing 3B instead of Robin Ventura and Willie Greene is playing 2B instead of Craig Biggio.The only place that looks like it could struggle is 2B.So I signed utilityman Jeff Reboulet just incase.He is 35 and hit .274 in 45 games last year.He might be starting if Greene cant handle starting at 2B.

NOTABLE MINOR LEAGUERS

Robert Machado - He hit .337 in 42 games in the minors and will most likely be called up if he continues this early on in the 99 season.If he is called up Brad Ausmus will most likely be dealt somewhere else to free up cap room.

Darnell Stenson - Stenson is definately my player of the future.I think he is going to be the next Rafael Palmeiro.He has pretty good power but he should be known for his average.He hit .359 in 24 games and had 5 HRs in the minors.After Big Mac leaves this will definately be my first baseman.In fact if he shows me good stats coming off the bench at the start of the year.I just might give him a shot at DH and see if he can handle it.If so McGwire may be traded for a great pitcher that can be in KC a long time like Kyle Farnsworth.We could use 6 million extra in cap room anyway.

George Lombard - He hit a very impressive .352 in 51 games in the minors.Right now though we do not need him but he does have a chance at being called up if either Trey Beamon or Luis Polonia dont do good.Luis and Trey will switch off starting in LF and I will determine which one will be traded and them make the call for Lombard.

OPENING DAY STARTING ROTATION

Name - Age - Win/Loss Record - ERA - IP - Salary for year

1.Aaron Sele - 29 - 13-10 - 4.49 - 206.1 - 1.3m
2.Pete Harnisch - 33 - 16-8 - 2.99 - 207.2 - 3.2m
3.Bill Pulsipher - 26 - 13-6 - 3.21 - 185 - 258k
4.Vaughn Eshelman - 27 - 10-8 - 4.67 - 156 - 213k
5.Ken Cloude - 25 - 5-10 - 6.38 - 108.2 - 250k

3 changes to the rotation since last years opening day.First off we add Aaron Sele for John Smoltz.Then Pete Harnisch for Salomen Torres and finally Bill Pulsipher for LaTroy Hawkins(Who is in our minor league system now).Vaughn Eshelmen and Ken Cloude are 2 returning starters.Vaughn pitched pretty good last year considering our record.Cloude was sent down after about 3/4 of the season but we need a 5th starter and im gonna go with him again.If he doesnt work out we have LaTroy Hawkins and Nelson Cruz in the minors that could come up and start ASAP.

OPENING DAY BULLPEN (+ denotes closer)

+Rick Croushore - 29 - 1-0 - 3.00 - 9 - 250k
Turk Wendell - 32 - 6-10 - 4.63 - 81.2 - 1.2m
Rich Rodriquez - 37 - 0-1 - 3.77 - 14.1 - 710k
Jose Paniagua - 26 - 4-2 - 5.46 - 94 - 170k
Terry Adams - 27 - 5-5 - 3.13 - 83.1 - 170k
Paul Quantrill - 31 - 4-4 - 3.73 - 60.1 - 730k

NOTABLE MINOR LEAGUERS

None!Nobody really stands out pitching wise.They are all just ok.Not good.Not bad.Just ok.

MY VIEW OF THE UPCOMING SEASON

Well I hate to say it....but we should finish near the bottom of the division again.I couldnt afford any good pitching during the offseason so our bottom 3 of the rotation will be questionable all year.The bullpen looks sturdy but I don't think it will hold up.The batting looks great but McGwire and possibly Gwynn might be dealt before the deadline if the pitching doesnt do well.I have Stenson to take over for Big Mac and I can move Polonia to RF and put Lombard out in LF so I could be able to trade Gwynn.Most likely I will keep one of them.I think one or two better pitchers would turn this team around.Don't be suprised if we flop again this year...Here we come Boston..

By the way...If anybody has any questions, concerns, tips, suggestions or just any remark id be glad to hear it.Thanks for reading

[loc0bob]

Well I am back to do the mid season update and my preseason analysis was correct.We are in dead last with a 25-63 record.Our team batting average is .272(15th in the league) and our team ERA is....wow 6.07(Last in the league).We have only 4.2m in cash with a payroll of 34.3m(5th lowest in the league).At the beginning of the year we were making money but now we are losing money because only 4,000 people per game are coming to see us.Our pitching still sucks but the rotation is getting a little bit better.We went on a 5 game winning streak just before the All-Star break.It's not much but thats 1/5 of our wins!

STANDINGS

Here are the standings in the AL Central so far...

Cleveland 55-32
Chicago 51-36
Detroit 49-39
Minnesota 29-59
Kansas City 25-63

TRANSACTIONS

In the first trade I sent Vaughn Eshelman to Oakland for Matt Riley.

I had to think about this trade for a little while because I like Eshelman and he was doing pretty good before this year..but this year he was doing horrible so I decided to do it because Eshelman's contract is up at the end of this year and he will want pretty big money and he isnt all that good.While Riley's contract is good until 2003.This year Eshelman is 5-4 with a 6.44 ERA in 65.2 IP while Riley is 0-4 with a 5.94 ERA in 50.1 IP.They look pretty close except Riley doesnt have any wins! This doesnt really bother me any considering my team SUCKS.

In the second trade I sent Mark McGwire and Jeff McMurray to Pittsburgh for Andy Ashby.

Well I said one would go if we wasnt playing good and looking at our record...we arent playing good.So since my pitching needed help I sent McGwire to Pittsburgh.This year McGwire is only hitting .245 with 14 HRs and 40 RBIs and Darnell Stenson has been putting up ROY numbers so far....so McGwire is out...Stenson and Ashby are in.Ashby is 4-4 with a 2.70 ERA in 100 IP.McMurray is just a minor league bust I have been wanting to get rid of since last year.His ERA was 7.20 in 75 IP...in the minor leagues!!!I feel I got the better end of this deal.

and in the final trade I sent Willie Greene packing to Baltimore for Mark Grudzielanek.

Willie was struggling at the plate for the first half of the year and Mark can hit around .275 each and every year.Plus he saved me some money.Right now Willie is hitting .203 with 14 HRs and 42 RBIs and Mark is hitting .328 with 3 HRs and 23 RBIs.I believe I also got the better end of this deal.

LINEUP (* Denotes Rookie)

Here is how my lineup is looking and doing halfway through the season..

Name - Position - Average - HRs - RBIs -SBs

1.Luis Polonia - CF - .279 - 2 HRs - 24 RBIs 17 SBs
2.Mark Grudzielanek - 2B - .328 - 3 HRs - 23 RBIs - 6 SBs
3.Tony Gwynn - RF - .320 - 4 HRs - 37 RBIs - 3 SBs
4.Ivan Rodriguez - C - .332 - 16 HRs - 106 RBIs - 4 SBs
5.Terrell Lowery - DH - .297 - 23 HRs - 54 RBIs - 2 SBs
6.*Darnell Stenson - 1B - .310 - 21 HRs - 52 RBIs - 0 SBs
7.Wade Boggs - 3B - .270 - 1 HR - 18 RBIs - 1 SB
8.Damion Easley - SS - .262 - 15 HRs - 35 RBIs - 9 SBs
9.Trey Beamon - LF - .240 - 1 HR - 5 RBIs - 2 SBs

I don't really see a problem with the line-up.Even with McGwire gone the line-up is still pretty damn good.Darnell Stenson is heading for ROY even though he is on the worst team in baseball.The LF position is a little weak but for the past 2 weeks Lombard has been starting and he is hitting .220 with 1 HR and 4 RBIs in 13 games.Not all that good but im sure he will do better.If not Beamon can stay out there the rest of the year.He is doing alright.

NOTABLE MINOR LEAGUERS

OF Tim Telford - Well here is another good OF that I don't need right now.In AAA he is hitting .284 with 13 HRs and 47 RBIs in 50 games.I brought him up for a couple of games and he only hit .154 in 10 games.So I sent him back down.Maybe next year he will be ready.

PITCHING ROTATION

Name - Win/Loss - ERA - IP - K - BBs

1.Aaron Sele - 6-7 - 4.55 - 116.2 IP - 96 Ks - 34 BBs
2.Pete Harnisch - 5-9 - 4.92 - 104.1 IP - 66 Ks - 37 BBs
3.Andy Ashby - 4-4 - 2.70 - 100 IP - 70 Ks - 19 BBs
4.Matt Riley - 0-4 - 5.94 - 50 IP - 35 Ks - 14 BBs
5.*Joel Bennett - 1-4 - 7.83 - 33.1 IP - 25 Ks - 12 BBs

Well what can I say..It sucks.Only Andy Ashby is doing good.I expected Sele and Harnisch to at least have ERAs within 3.Joel Bennett wasnt even supposed to be the 5th starter.Bill Pulsipher was but he had a long groin injury and just came back 3 weeks ago.Right now he is 0-3 with a ERA of 9.17 in 17.2 IP.Not too impressive

BULLPEN (+ Denotes Closer)

+Rick Croushore - 0-3 - 2.76 - 29.1 IP - 35 Ks - 16 BBs - 9 S
Jose Paniagua - 1-4 - 4.75 - 66.1 IP - 55 Ks - 23 BBs
Terry Adams - 0-2 - 4.79 - 35.2 IP - 23 Ks - 14 BBs
Rich Rodriquez - 3-4 - 4.98 - 47 IP - 35 Ks - 23 BBs
*Tom Davey - 1-2 - 5.00 - 27 IP - 30 Ks - 15 BBs
Turk Wendell - 1-1 - 5.30 - 54.1 IP - 57 Ks - 31 BBs

The bullpen is just horrible.Croushore is doing what I got him for and thats a plus.I've tried bringing up minor leaguers but they just bomb too.These are the best and they suck.Oh well..Theres always next year...

NOTABLE MINOR LEAGUERS

Jimmy Rodgers - He is looking pretty good down in AAA.He is 5-0 with a 2.34 ERA in 61.2 IP.So I figured he was ready and brought him up.What do you think happen?in 4 GS he went 0-1 with a 9.39 ERA in 7.2 IP.So of course he had to be sent back down.

MID-SEASON ANALYSIS

Well I think we will get out of the cellar and pass Minnesota up....but thats about it.Another horrible year for KC baseball.I don't look to make any more trades this year unless the computer approaches me with a lopsided trade in my favor...or they offer me a great pitcher...I will be back after the season with all the post season crap.Thanks for reading

[RPI-Fan]

Cool job! Just letting you know I'm reading.

[loc0bob]

RPI-Fan - Its good to know at least one person is reading about my poor job of coaching!

Anyway the season is over.We have finished dead last in the AL Central at 59-103.That is 38 games out of first place.The second half looked better than the first half though and some guys stepped up and had great years.My prediction was a little off but it was close.I said we would finish ahead of the Twins.Well KC and Minnesota each had their share of days in the cellar but we went 3-7 in the last 10 games and Minnesota went 7-3 to stay out of the cellar and they ended up 4 games ahead of us.We did pretty good against division leading teams though.We went 5-1 against the AL East Champion Yankees during the second half of the season.We also went 5-1 against AL Central second place team Detroit and swept a series with the AL West champion A's.But the bad teams made us look like the cellar dwellers we are.Anaheim(63-99 and dead last in the AL West) took 7 of 9 from us and Minnesota(63-99 and next to last in the AL Central) took 4 of 6 in the last month from us.All in all I think the second half of the season was a plus.We finish the year with a team average of .281(7th in the league), a team ERA of 5.51(Last in the league), and 1.9 million dollars in cash(Next to last in the league.Only Florida is worse.They are 16.3 million dollars in the hole!!).We lost 1.9m dollars over the season and we need to make some money and fast.

FINAL SEASON STATS (* Denotes Rookie)

Name - Position - Average - HRs - RBIs

1.Luis Polonia - CF - .283 - 8 HRs - 47 RBIs
2.Mark Grudnielanek - 2B - .320 - 6 HRs - 51 RBIs
3.Tony Gwynn - RF - .325 - 12 HRs - 79 RBIs
4.Ivan Rodriguez - C - .327 - 38 HRs - 133 RBIs
5.*Darnell Stenson - 1B - .317 - 48 HRs - 117 RBIs
6.Terrell Lowery - DH - .283 - 37 HRs - 96 RBIs
7.Matt Luke - LF - .313 - 10 HRs - 30 RBIs
8.*Travis Dawkins - SS - .283 - 0 HRs - 8 RBIs
9.Wade Boggs - 3B - .254 - 3 HRs - 30 RBIs

Bench

Brad Ausmus - C - .222 - 3 HRs - 5 RBIs
Jeff Reboulet - IF - .181 - 2 HRs - 15 RBIs
Damion Easley - IF - .262 - 19 HRs - 43 RBIs
Dwight Smith - OF - .239 - 10 HRs - 39 RBIs
Trey Beamon - LF - .230 - 5 HRs - 17 RBIs

Well as you can see Darnell Stenson, Ivan Rodriguez and Tony Gwynn were the backbones of this team.They all performed well over the whole year and none of they were ever injured(Tony was gone 2 days with a sprained ankle).I pretty much guarantee Stenson will get rookie of the year.I mean look at the numbers he put up.He was even in the Top 10 in HRs(Sammy Sosa hit an amazing 77 HRs!).I expect Ivan Rodriguez to pick up his 2nd Gold Glove as a Royal.He had a .993 fielding percentage and last year he had a .997.Looks close enough to me.Stenson has a chance at getting a Gold Glove too.He has a .984 fielding percentage.My only problem is Tony Gwynn is going to be a Free Agent at the end of this year and I don't have the money to meet his contract demands.Maybe since hs is older he will pull a Wade Boggs and ask for less just to be on a team.I sure hope so.Dwight Smith was a disappointment.He started about 80 games and only hit .239.Look for him to be gone next year.Possibly for a minor league IF.Luke looks as if he can take over for him in LF.I am pleased with the job 20 year old rookie Travis Dawkins did when Damion Easley went down with a 60 day injury.He may be starting next year for Wade Boggs.Boggs is 41 and his contract is up and I most likely wont resign him unless he wants around 170k.

FINAL PITCHING STATS (+ Denotes Closer)

Name - Win/Loss Record - ERA - IP - Ks - BBs

1.Andy Ashby - 11-10 - 3.71 - 201.1 - 145 Ks - 50 BBs
2.Pete Harnisch - 8-15 - 5.18 - 184.0 - 104 Ks - 65 BBs
3.Aaron Sele - 10-11 - 4.70 - 180.0 - 144 Ks - 66 BBs
4.*Bobby Canseco - 1-1 - 3.21 - 28.0 - 23 Ks - 10 BBs
5.*Mark Mulder - 3-7 - 5.00 - 68.1 - 40 Ks - 17 BBs

Bullpen

+Rick Croushore - 0-3 - 3.26 - 58.0 - 61 Ks - 24 BBs - 23 Saves
Terry Adams - 5-3 - 3.69 - 75.2 - 58 Ks - 32 BBs
Rich Rodriguez - 3-4 - 3.89 - 85.2 - 56 Ks - 40 BBs
*Tom Davey - 1-3 - 4.35 - 62.0 - 60 Ks - 36 BBs
Turk Wendell - 3-4 - 4.47 - 90.2 - 86 Ks - 47 BBs
Jose Paniagua - 3-6 - 4.62 - 111.0 - 90 Ks - 37 BBs

Well once again.What can I say.The pitching was horrible.Although it was better than last year.It was still horrible.Andy Ashby was the bright spot as he had a great year even though he was on the worst team in baseball and Bobby Canseco showed some light of a huge future as he stepped in when Aaron Sele went down with a 60 day injury.Rick Croushore did better than I expected as a closer.Actually he did very good considering this was his first year as a closer.Terry Adams and Rich Rodriguez did good jobs.But all the rest of the pitchers were disappointing.Pete Harnisch and Aaron Sele were especially disappointing.Coming into the year I figured they would at least put up ERAs within 3.But they didnt.Ashby, Sele, Adams, and Rodriguez will all be resigned but Harnisch and Wendell will most likely not be resigned unless they are asking for less.Of course if Ashby gets big headed and asks for alot more then he will also be dropped.

PLAYOFFS

Here is how the 1999 MLB Playoffs went..

DIVISION PLAYOFFS
Indians defeat Red Sox, 3-0
A's defeat Yankees, 3-0
Mets defeat Diamondbacks, 3-0
Expos defeat Astros, 3-2

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Indians defeat A's, 4-1
Mets defeat Expos, 4-2

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Indians defeat Mets, 4-2

Well the AL Central champs are now the World Champs.We didnt do too well against Cleveland this year.We went 3-9 against them. My bet going into the playoffs was the Yankess were gonna win.But my pick got knocked out in the first round....go figure

CONTRACTS

Here are the contracts everybody on my team wanted and if they were signed or not...

KANSAS CITY ROYALS AGE SALARY YEARS
Mark Grudzielanek 29 $1,300,000 2 (Signed)
Wade Boggs 41 $700,000 2 (Signed)
Tony Gwynn 39 $3,200,000 2 (Signed)
Jeff Reboulet 35 $170,000 2 (Signed)
Andy Ashby 32 $2,000,000 3 (Signed)
Ken Cloude 25 $170,000 2 (Signed)
Pete Harnisch 33 $3,200,000 3 (Released)
Terry Adams 27 $460,000 2 (Signed)
Rich Rodriguez 37 $170,000 2 (Signed)
Turk Wendell 32 $720,000 2 (Signed)
Bill Pulsipher 26 $250,000 2 (Released)
Miguel Batista 29 $170,000 2 (Signed)
Aaron Sele 29 $1,200,000 2 (Signed)

Well I signed alot of people because most of them took pay cuts.Grudzielanek went from making 1.9m to 1.2m.Gwynn went from 4.2m down to 2.4m.Boggs went from 750k to 430k.Reboulet went from 550k to 170k.Ashby went from 5m to 1.8m(A MUST MAKE deal).Cloude went from 250k to 170k.Rodriguez went from 710k to 170k.Wendell went from 1.2m to 690k.Batista went from 250k to 170k and Sele went from 1.4m to 1.1m.The only increase was given to Terry Adams.He went from 170k to 530k.I felt he deserved it as he was the best guy coming out of the bullpen other than Rick Croushore.

SEASON AWARDS (My Guys in Caps)

American League (1999)

Cy Young: Kerry Wood (NYA)
MVP: Barry Bonds (CLE)
Rookie Of The Year: DARNELL STENSON (KC)

Gold Glove (P): Chad Ogea (BAL)
Gold Glove (C): Charles Johnson (BAL)
Gold Glove (1B): Sean Casey (BOS)
Gold Glove (2B): Edgardo Alfonzo (SEA)
Gold Glove (3B): Joe Crede (DET)
Gold Glove (SS): Deivi Cruz (OAK)
Gold Glove (LF): Darin Erstad (TOR)
Gold Glove (CF): Damon Buford (DET)
Gold Glove (RF): Shawn Green (OAK)

National League (1999)

Cy Young: Al Leiter (HOU)
MVP: Albert Belle (MON)
Rookie Of The Year: Robb Haney (COL)

Gold Glove (P): Kenny Rogers (MIL)
Gold Glove (C): Dan Wilson (SD)
Gold Glove (1B): Kevin Young (CIN)
Gold Glove (2B): Fernando Vina (STL)
Gold Glove (3B): Jeff Cirillo (SF)
Gold Glove (SS): Omar Vizquel (MON)
Gold Glove (LF): F.P. Santangelo (LA)
Gold Glove (CF): Andruw Jones (NYN)
Gold Glove (RF): Sammy Sosa (SF)

No big suprise that Stenson got the AL ROY but I was suprised to see that Ivan Rodriguez had got beaten out by Charles Johnson for a Gold Glove.I was also suprised to see that Sammy Sosa didnt win NL MVP.I mean come on the guy broke the single season HR record with 77 HRs and also hit a respectable .295.All Albert Belle did was hit .337 with 61 HRs.Yes it sounds close but I would have given it to Sosa.77 HRs is unbelieveable.

OFFSEASON HOPES

Well in the offseason I have a couple of things to accomplish.First I need to at least get 2 more good starting pitchers to add along side Ashby, Sele, and Canseco.Second I need to trade Dwight Smith and Brad Ausmus for possibly a minor league IF or a good starter or bullpen help.Third I need to sign a couple of IF for the minor leagues.I have none except a 1B.Anyway i'm gonna go mess around with the offseason and see what I can swing.I shall return at later to post the results.As always...Thanks for reading.

[BishopMVP]

I am reading too, and want to point out the two things that seem odd so far. After you play for a while, 77 HR's will not seem so much. I had one guy hit over 100 in a season. The other thing is that when the Cubs play the Red Sox in the 1st WS, you know something is wrong.

[loc0bob]

BishopMVP - One of your guys hit 100 HRs in a season? Wow I couldnt even imagine that ever really happening.During the All-Star break I looked at the leaderboard and thought Sosa having 48 was some sorta of glitch.I was wrong though..He really did hit 48.Anyway since you have this game.Have any tips to help my team win?I seem to have the bats.I just cant get the pitching.


Anyway I have went through the offseason and have made a couple of moves.

First I signed Jeff Suppan to a one year deal worth 1.8 million dollars.

Jeff will be our 4th starter and should do a good job.I think he will be worth the money in the end.In 99 he was 16-13 with a ERA of 3.99 in 239 IP.He also had 106 Ks and 60 BBs.Those are pretty good stats for a 4th starter.Hopefully he can keep his ERA under 4 and at least manager 10 or 12 wins.This is all I am looking for out of him.If he can at least manage 10 wins and a ERA under 4 then I will probably resign him.

Next I sent Dwight Smith, Brad Ausmus and Wade Boggs to Florida for Rick Helling.

I really liked this trade.I get rid of 2 guys I wanted to get rid of plus I get a good pitcher.At the end of last year I had said I would be looking to get rid of Brad Ausmus and Dwight Smith and after looking for about 10 or 15 minutes I finally got Florida to bite...but I had to throw in Wade Boggs to seal the deal.That didnt really bother me too much.I like Boggs and he used to be good but last year his average fell during the second half of the season and he is now 42 years old and was only set to be a backup on my team.I picked up Helling who was 11-8 with a 3.76 ERA in 167.2 IP.He also had 136 Ks and 49 BBs.Nice stats and should be a welcome addition to our dismal pitching staff

In the final trade I sent Mike Drumwright and Doug Linton to St Louis for David Newhan

Well this was pretty much a minor trade.We swapped a couple of minor leaguers.Doug Linton was a 36 year old rookie who wasnt doing good in my minor league system and age was starting to hit him.Drumwright was a 29 year old rookie who wasnt panning out either.So I sent them both to St Louis for David Newhan.Newhan is a 27 year old rookie IF who hasnt been out of the minors yet.He isnt all that good but should become a decent backup and besides I didnt have any IF in the minors anyway but I had plenty of pitchers.

OPENING DAY STARTING LINE-UP (* Denotes Rookie)

Here is going to be my starting line-up for opening day including how old they are, what they did in 99, and how much they are going to make this year...

Name - Age - Position - Average - HRs - RBIs - SBs - Salary for year

1.Luis Polonia - 36 - CF - .283 - 8 HRs - 47 RBIs - 38 SBs - 300k
2.Mark Grudzielanek - 30 - SS - .320 - 6 HRs - 51 RBIs - 14 SBs - 1.3m
3.Tony Gwynn - 40 - RF - .325 - 12 HRs - 79 RBIs - 6 SBs - 2.4m
4.Ivan Rodriguez - 29 - C - .327 - 38 HRs - 133 RBIs - 9 SBs - 3.5m
5.Darnell Stenson - 22 - 1B - .317 - 48 HRs - 117 RBIs - 0 SBs - 270k
6.Terrell Lowery - 30 - DH - .283 - 37 HRs - 96 RBIs - 2 SBs - 200k
7.Matt Luke - 30 - LF - .313 - 10 HRs - 30 RBIs - 1 SB - 200k
8.Damion Easley - 31 - SS - .262 - 19 HRs - 43 RBIs - 10 SBs - 1.9m
9.Travis Dawkins - 21 - 3B - .283 - 0 HRs - 8 RBIs - 11 SBs - 170k

Bench

Robert Machado - 27 - C - .000 - 0 HRs - 0 RBIs - 0 SBs - 200k
*David Newhan - 27 - IF - .000 - 0 HRs - 0 RBIs - 0 SBs - 200k
Jeff Reboulet - 36 - IF - .181 - 2 HRs - 15 RBIs - 3 SBs - 170k
Trey Beamon - 26 - LF - .230 - 5 HRs - 17 RBIs - 5 SBs - 213k
*Tim Telford - 28 - OF - .000 - 0 HRs - 0 RBIs - 0 SBs - 170k

Well once again the line-up looks solid.I really only have 2 concerns.First is the LF position.Matt Luke looked good in the second half last year but i'm wondering if he can continue that hitting.If not Trey Beamon can start but he's a question mark too.He only hit .230 last year and didnt look good at all.My other concern is about contracts.At the end of this year we have some guys that are gonna want alot more money.These guys are Ivan Rodriguez, Darnell Stenson, and Terrell Lowery.If we dont start making money this year we wont be able to afford these guys and I will have to let them go.Other than these 2 concers we should once again have a strong powerful lineup.

NOTABLE MINOR LEAGUERS

George Lombard - OF - Once again he is on this last.Last year I thought he was ready but he only hit .204 in 16 games in the majors.Hopefully this year he will continue to hit good in the minor leagues and he can be Tony Gwynn's replacement when Gwynn decides to leave or retire.He shall be watched closely by the KC organization.

Mike Anderson - OF - Another good OF.He hasnt been tested in the majors or the minors yet as my scout just got him out of the draft during the offseason.My scout says he is a future hall of famer and his ratings look to back that quote up.His stats are already better than Lombard's.I will definately be watching this kid during the year.

OPENING DAY STARTING ROTATION

Name - Age - Win/Loss Record - ERA - IP - Ks - BBs - Salary for year

1.Andy Ashby - 33 - 11-10 - 3.71 - 201.1 IP - 145 Ks - 50 BBs - 1.8m
2.Rick Helling - 30 - 11-8 - 3.86 - 167.2 IP - 136 Ks - 49 BBs - 3.5m
3.Aaron Sele - 30 - 10-11 - 4.70 - 180 IP - 144 Ks - 66 BBs - 1.1m
4.Jeff Suppan - 26 - 16-13 - 3.99 - 239 IP - 106 Ks - 60 BBs - 1.8m
5.*Bobby Canseco - 22 - 1-1 - 3.21 - 28 IP - 23 Ks - 10 BBs - 170k

Well for once the rotation looks pretty darn good.I think the top 4 starters will have no trouble but Canseco is a question mark.Last year he did good filling in for Sele while Sele was injured.I figured he was ready.So i'm giving him a chance.If he doesnt do well we have 4 or 5 prospects that will try for that 5th spot.

OPENING DAY BULLPEN (+ Denotes Closer)

+Rick Croushore - 30 - 0-3 - 3.26 - 58 IP - 61 Ks - 24 BBs - 250k
Terry Adams - 28 - 5-3 - 3.69 - 75.2 IP - 58 Ks - 32 BBs - 530k
Rich Rodriguez - 38 - 3-4 - 3.89 - 85.2 IP - 56 Ks - 40 BBs - 170k
Turk Wendell - 33 - 3-4 - 4.47 - 90.2 IP - 86 Ks - 47 BBs - 690k
Paul Quantrill - 32 - 0-0 - 7.79 - 32.1 IP - 22 Ks - 13 BBs - 730k
Jose Paniagua - 27 - 3-6 - 4.62 - 111 IP - 90 Ks - 37 BBs - 170k

Well the bullpen looks good too.The only problem is Paul Quantrill.He was horrible last year but i've decided to give him another chance over Tom Davey.If Quantrill starts the season bad again I will bring Davey back up and Quantrill will probably be traded since he is on the last year of his contract.

NOTABLE MINOR LEAGUERS

Andy De La Maza - My scout just picked him up in the offseason in the draft and his ratings look damn good.He is untested but he is surely a future starter.

Jason Stevens - Another guy my scout picked up in the draft during the offseason except this guy is a reliever/closer.His ratings also look good too and I will give him a year or two to develop before I call him up.Unless I REALLLLLY need him of course.

MY VIEW OF THE UPCOMING SEASON

This year is looking good for us.We have a good rotation and the line-up looks strong.I think we will contend for the wild card but not the division.My prediction is that we will not make it to the playoffs but we will at least get 3rd or 4th with Minnesota being in 5th.Look out for the Royals though.They are gonna suprise a few teams.Anyway off to Kauffmann Stadium to open the year once again against the Boston Red Sox.Wish us luck and thanks for reading.

[BishopMVP]

Back when I played it, I played pretty much every time with the Red Sox, so I can't give you too much advice on a small market team. I never really played a lot because the stats engine seemed a little off, and I felt FPS was better. In BB Mogul though, the trade AI also is easily abused; by either stacking lots of players for one good one or throwing in money/trading for money.

[This message has been edited by BishopMVP (edited 04-02-2001).]

[oykib]

Here's some unsolicited advice. Pay more attention to OBP than BA. BA is an overrated stat. OBP and SLG translate much more closely to scoring runs, which is the most important component to a winning team.
Build a good bullpen. You can totally blow away your competition over the course of the season with a solid 'pen (a top one can translate to a 30 win swing over a bad one), and the diference in payroll can be as little as $5-7 million if you play your cards right.
Avoid free agents with a small market team. Unless you see an All-Star for <$2.5 million, then it's not worth the payroll hit to sign him with a small market team. Build through you farm system and you'll have a low payroll ( <$30 million ), and you'll be able to afford to be first in scouting and Farm System.
Wait 'til you get to you get to be a .500 team, then make a big splash by grabbing two big free agents. Your payroll will still only be at $50 million, and you'll be a championship contender. If you pay free agents to field an 85 win team, then you are wasting time, and dwindling you're cash reserve.
Also, don't be afraid to make your fans pay to see your team on TV. It's especially useful when you have a low payroll loser on your hands. A few years of pay TV can build a $50 - $75 million cash reserve.
Hope that helps. I really enjoyed Baseball Mogul. I have OOTP3, but I'll still get BM2k2 when it comes out.

[WebEwbank]

Great "AAR" as we say in the EU world ! I play BM2000, but the theory of winning isn't that different. One thing I would suggest is that you work towards getting 7 decent starters, not 5. They get hurt a lot, and you need depth. Of course, this is tiough in a small market scenario...

I agree that free agents shouls be avoided unless the bang-for-buck is there.
Periodically I like to scan the league for young players with great skills who haven't demonstrated it on the field yet, at least in the majors. Occasionally you can pick one up and sign him to a longterm minsal deal. Shades of FOF !

[Buddy Grant]

Nice reports loc0bob - good luck to the Royals.

[loc0bob]

Sorry for the lack of updates.I have been very busy the past week.I have completed the first half of the new season and will post it very soon.